Namibian Sun

Justicia Shipena





Well-known as Chef Honey, 23-year-old Patrica Doeses strives for a better community. She matriculated from Amazing Kids Private School and Academy, then went on to study culinary arts.

Doses is a chef by profession, but also does digital marketing and events through her company, Honey&Co.

She is also the founder of the Noble Foundation, a non-governmental youth organisation that aims for sustainable development.

What ignited the spark for Doeses to become active in her community was when she found herself lost in life, not knowing which path to follow career-wise.

“I was fortunate enough to have guidance and support from my family. I then started wondering how other people without support make it through difficult times, and that is when I started doing community projects to help out where I can,” she said.

Perseverance and discipline

Her journey with the Noble Foundation has taught her a lot about perseverance and discipline, she said.

“It is so easy to lose morale once sponsors turn you down and even easier to lose focus when you see what other foundations are doing, then wanting to duplicate that,” she added.

Doeses said what keeps her afloat is thinking about why she started. Her motto is to change the narrative and build self-sustainable communities through the Noble Foundation’s projects.

“We don’t always want to be donating everything, making the homes we work with dependent on the next donation, then losing hope when there’s no helping hand,” she said, adding that the foundation strives to independence in communities.

“We are building a community we want our children to grow up and thrive in.”

Biggest achievement

She narrated that her biggest achievement thus far has been learning to be unapologetically herself and, through building this foundation, she has learnt the true worth of authenticity and hard work.

“We all realise that we each have an individual flair in this world and that which you alone can bring to the table is why you still walk the earth today,” she said.

According to her, material achievements are good to count and celebrate, but character growth has always been biggest win to her.

Doeses said they have plans to build a community library where children can gather after school and have a safe space to interact and stimulate each other’s mind-sets as well as repainting and refurbishing some houses.

“Every year in November, we run a project called Santa’s Shoebox, where we give the kids stationery and Christmas gifts,” she said.

No man is an island

She further said we currently lives in a society where people walk past those who are being robbed because no one wants to be involved in anything that has to do with anyone.

“In my mother tongue, we have a saying that goes khoe e xu i ke khoe e a khoe, which means no man is an island. It is up to us to build a nation we are proud to call home, and this can only happen through helping each other,” she said.

Her words for her follow peers are “just start”, adding that most young people have brilliant ideas but are afraid to start because they fear failure.

“You can’t be stagnant forever, just start with what you have in your hands and do your best and God will do the rest.”

Facts about Doeses

-She is known as honey but she hates honey

-She is a chef but hates cooking for herself

-Her favorite colours are white and gold

-She loves playing car games

-She finds shopping therapeutic